Tariff is logical entity in the system, which represents rules for rating and billing calls made by Account or Customer to which this Tariff has been assigned. With each Tariff there can be set of Rates, defining prices to be charged for calls to different destinations. Tariffs are created by Customers and each Customer has its own set of Tariffs which it can assign to his own sub-Customers or Accounts, invisible to other Customers.
There can be more than one Rate matching destination number, in this case Rate with longest prefix is used (e.g. when destination number is 1234567890, while there are two Rates with prefixes 1 and 12, Rate with prefix 12 will be selected for rating/billing purposes). It is also important to understand that Account or Customer will not be able to make a call to destination for which no Rate exists.
Adding, Updating, and Deleting a Tariff
On the Tariffs page (shown below), you can add a new Tariff, update an existing Tariff, or delete an existing Tariff.
To add a new Tariff, under the Add Tariff section, select Add New. On the Add New Tariff page, enter the desired values under the Basic Parameters and Advanced Parameters sections. Note that you must enter a Tariff Name. When you are done, select Save & Close. The Tariff you just added is now listed on the Tariffs page.
To update an existing Tariff, in the table of Tariffs, select the name of the Tariff you wish to edit (e.g., "Test Tariff"), which appears as a link. Update the desired values. When you are done, select Save & Close. The Tariff has now been updated, and you are returned to the Tariffs page.
To delete an existing Tariff, in the table of Tariffs, locate the Tariff you wish to delete. On the row associated with that Tariff, select the image of a red cross under the Action column. The Tariff has now been deleted, and you are returned to the Tariff page.
Adding, Updating, and Deleting New Rates
To add one or more new Rates to a Tariff, in the table of Tariffs, locate the Tariff you wish to add one or more new Rate to. On the row associated with that Tariff, select Open Rates under the Action column. On the Rates page (shown below) associated with the Tariff, you can add Rates to the Tariff either individually or by uploading a file containing the Rates and desired values you wish to add.
Method 1: Individually
When adding, updating, or deleting one or a small number of Rates, it is sometimes feasible to do so individually.
To add a new Rate, under the Add Rate section associated with the Tariff, select Add. Enter the desired values, noting that you must enter a Prefix, and that each Prefix can be associated with at most one Rate. For example, the Prefix "1604" refers to the geographic region British Columbia, Canada. When you are done, select Save & Close. The Rate you just added is now listed on the Rates page associated with the Tariff.
To update an existing Rate, locate the Rate you wish to update. On the row associated with that Rate, select the Prefix under the Prefix column, which appears as a link. Update the desired values, noting as before that each Prefix can be associated with at most one Rate. When you are done, select Save & Close. The Rate has now been updated, and you are returned to the Rates page associated with the Tariff.
To delete an existing Rate, locate the Rate you wish to delete. On the row associated with that Rate, select the image of a red cross under the Action column. The Rate has now been deleted, and you are returned to the Rates page associated with the Tariff.
Method 2: Uploading a File
As an alternative to adding, updating, or deleting Rates individually, it may be more convenient to do so by uploading a file containing Rates, especially when adding, updating, or deleting a large number of Rates at the same time. The two main file types you can use to upload the Rates and desired values are (a) Microsoft Excel [.xls] files and (2) Comma-separated value [.csv] files.
To begin, go to the Rates page associated with the Tariff. Under the Download Rates section, select Download to download the .xls file, which is named, e.g., "[Tariff Name] Rates.xls". Once downloaded, open the file using a spreadsheet application, e.g., Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc. The spreadsheet displays the Rates associated with the Tariff (shown below): each Rate is displayed on a row and associated with a unique ID automatically generated by the system. By modifying, saving, and uploading this spreadsheet, you can add, update, and delete a large number of Rates all at once.
Action [A|D|U|S|SA]
Entering "A" adds a new Rate for a given Prefix, entering "D" deletes an existing Rate, entering "U" updates an existing Rate according to the associated Id, entering "S" updates an existing Rate according to the associated Prefix, and entering "SA" functions as either "A" or "S", depending on whether the Prefix entered is already associated with an Id. See below for details.
Id
The unique Rate Id is automatically generated by the system. You need not enter a value, but if you do, the system will ignore it.
Prefix
The Prefix is associated with phone numbers. You must enter a Prefix, and this value cannot already be associated with another Rate.
Country
The country is automatically generated by the system according to the associated Prefix. You need not enter a value, but if you do, the system will ignore it.
Interval 1
This must be a non-negative integer corresponding to Interval 1, sec under the Billing Parameters section when adding or updating a Rate individually (see above).
Interval N
This must be a non-negative integer corresponding to Interval N, sec under the Billing Parameters section when adding or updating a Rate individually (see above).
Price 1
This must be a non-negative integer corresponding to Price 1, USD/min under the Billing Parameters section when adding or updating a Rate individually (see above).
Price N
This must be a non-negative integer corresponding to Price N, USD/min under the Billing Parameters section when adding or updating a Rate individually (see above).
Forbidden
This must be either "0" or "1", corresponding to the Forbidden checkbox under the Basic Parameters section when adding or updating a Rate individually (see above). A "0" indicates that the geographic region associated with the Prefix is not forbidden, i.e., permitted. A "1" indicates that the associated geographic region is forbidden.
Grace Period
This must be either "0" or "1", corresponding to the Enable Grace Period checkbox under the Billing Parameters section when adding or updating a Rate individually (see above). A "0" indicates that the grace period is disabled. A "1" indicates that the grace period is enabled.
To add, update, or delete one or more Rates, you will need to enter values under the Action [A|D|U|S|SA] ("Action") column associated with the row of the Rate you wish to add, update, or delete.
To add a new Rate for a given Prefix, insert a new row below the existing rows. On this new row, enter A under the Action column. You must enter values under each of the columns, except possibly the Id and Country columns, since the Id is automatically generated for the Rate by the system and the Country is automatically generated in accordance with the Prefix. In this case, you must ensure that the Prefix you enter is not already associated with a Rate in the system. Otherwise, the system will generate an error message.
To update an existing Rate by Id, enter U under the Action column of the Rate you wish to update. Update the desired values corresponding to that Rate, being careful not to edit the Id (because the system identifies a Rate by its Id, and editing that Id means that the system cannot identify the Rate you wish to update).
To update an existing Rate by Prefix, insert a new row below the existing rows. On this new row, enter S under the Action column and the Prefix you wish to update. Note that in this case, the system identifies a Rate by its (unique) Prefix, rather than by its Id. This method of updating a Rate, by identifying it by its Prefix rather than by its Id, is useful when you have a long list (e.g., hundreds or thousands) of Rates, since you can update Rate values corresponding to the Prefix without knowing its Id.
To add a new Rate for a given Prefix or update the existing Rate associated with the Prefix, insert a new row below the existing rows. On this new row, enter SA under the Action column. You must enter values under each of the columns, except possibly the Id and Country columns, since the Id is automatically generated for the Rate by the system and the Country is automatically generated in accordance with the Prefix. In this case, you need not ensure that the Prefix you enter is not already associated with a Rate in the system. If the Prefix is not already associated with a Rate, the system adds the new Rate, functioning in the same way as add a new Rate for a given Prefix (A). If the Prefix is already associated with a Rate, the system updates that Rate with the new values you enter, functioning in the same way as update an existing Rate by Prefix (S).
When you are done adding, updating, or deleting Rates in your spreadsheet application, save the file. On the Rates page associated with the Tariff, under the Upload Rates section, select Choose File. Select the saved Rates file, and then select Upload.
If your modifications have been successfully made, a dialog box appears indicating the number of rows processed, commands recognized, and records added, updated, and deleted. In this case, select OK.
